NEW YORK – Pulling away comfortably in the first half, the Rams would fight off a late comeback by the Peacocks as Fordham University women's basketball defeated Saint Peter's, 64-58, at the Rose Hill Gym.
Friday night's victory gives the Maroon and White their fifth consecutive victory in the all-time series against Saint Peter's, with Fordham improving to 2-2 on the year, while the Peacocks fall to 0-3.
Leading the way in her first start of the 2024-25 campaign, Taylor Donaldson would tally 21 points, making six shots, including three from long-range, while also shooting a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Donaldson would also tally a career-high six steals, collecting over half of the Rams' 11 as a team Friday night.
Irene Murua would tally 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, along with four rebounds, while Amiyah Ferguson added nine points along with a team-high five assists. Chae Harris would tally seven points, while collecting three steals for herself and four rebounds as well.
Fordham held a 12-10 edge through one quarter of action Friday, tallying nearly half of those points in the off second chance opportunities, and pulling down six offensive rebounds in the opening frame. Harris would get in the passing lanes early and often, nabbing three steals in the first quarter alone.
Making sure to stretch their advantage in the second frame, the Maroon and White would outscore the Peacocks 26-15 in just the second quarter, shooting 9-of-18 from the field as a team. Fordham tallied 16 points on the fast break in just quarter number two, giving themselves a 13-point advantage heading into the locker room.
Capitalizing on their opponents mistakes, the Rams forced Saint Peter's into 15 turnovers in the first half alone, while also limiting the visitors to zero makes from three-point range.
Donaldson would steal the show in that period, dropping 11 points in the frame off 3-of-5 makes from the floor and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe, and set a new career high with five steals in just 7:30 minutes of playing time in the second quarter.
Saint Peter's came out of the break shooting 6-of-10 in the third quarter, outscoring the Rams by eight, and lighting up from beyond the arc with four makes in seven attempts, helping to cut their deficit to just five heading into the fourth.
A near even final quarter of action would see both teams take 11 shots from the field, with a single three pointer setting the difference in the final ten minutes. It wasn't without a bit of chaos down the stretch, with Saint Peter's cutting the deficit to single digits on two occasions, but the Rams stayed resilient, holding on for an eight point win, their second on the young season.
Fordham heads up the road next Wednesday for the "Battle of the Bronx" against Manhattan at 7:00 p.m. in Riverdale.
